Vital tooth root apices are occasionally damaged during surgical procedures of the dentoalveolus. This severs the main neurovascular supply to the dental pulps. Technical experience indicates that the majority of these teeth remain asymptomatic and do not require root canal therapy. The reactions involved in and around the dental pulp following this occurrence are subject to conjecture. The proper therapy for vital teeth which have undergone inadvertent apicoectomy is open to speculation. No literature is available which directly addresses this question. This research will longitudinally investigate the histological and radiographic changes in the dental pulp and periapical tissues following apicoectomy of vital tooth roots in Macaca mulatta. This study will directly investigate the recuperative capacity of the dental pulp following a gross disruption of its main neurovascular supply. The apices of vital teeth will be surgically severed in four adult rhesus monkeys, interrupting the apical nerves and blood vessels entering the tooth roots. Periodic radiographs will be obtained. The animals will be sacrificed at various intervals of time by perfusion of the left ventricle. A radiographic and histological analysis will then be performed. The dentoalveolar tissues will be sectioned and stained with Hematoxylin and Eosin, Massons trichrome, and Rowle's silver impregnation technique. A descriptive microscopic examination will be undertaken to longitudinally evaluate the changes occurring in the dental pulp and periapical tissues. Revascularization and neurotization of the pulps is hypothesized. Cemental repair and periapical tissue responses will be described. The results of this study will hopefully direct the clinical management of this mishap in the future.